Monday, August 16, 2010

The people that you meet

The people that know me best, know that by nature I am a solitary creature, for a variety of reasons, but I have discovered that friends can be found in the most unlikely of places.

I have several friends that I care about that I met from a now defunct pet chat board. I even met one of them in person once when she flew to NJ to bring a cat to a rescue that would give this special needs kitty a forever home.

I have another friend who I chat in email with now that the board is no longer up and running and I shared the birth of kittens with her over an email evening back and forth. ( Her rescued kitty had babies) It was as special as if I had been there.

I have several more friends I have met on Facebook...(okay, so it IS designed to be a social network so you do sort of expect to meet friends there...)

Now granted, these are not friends I meet regularly for coffee, or go shopping with or meet for lunch, or even chat on the phone with, but it doesn't make them any the less important. In fact, I found that in moving to a new area, having them there when I sit down to my computer was a great thing.
On the topic of facebook, it has also let me stay in touch for some people from where we moved from,as well as former classmates, and because it has a variety of quirky little games, it even gives us strange new things to do together. (IE: Farmville, Vampire Wars and my daughter's current favorite Cafe World).

I like to call it Gaming Lite.... But a lot of those online friends are personable, and funny and you can see that not only in individual interactions, but with what they share about themselves..like music clips they post, or game "gifts" they send, and then there are the few that interact personally as well, like an oncology nurse that also plays several of my facebook games. While this isn't like having lunch or talking on the phone, it is none the less significant because of it's distance. I like signing onto my facebook account and seeing the friends that spiced my dish, or fertilized my crops or even helped me "ascend to the shadow council".

Interestingly enough, I also have friends who share similar religious ideals that I do not have currently in person. (but religion is for another day).

Now I know..I read all the stuff about predators, and stalkers and ""online danger"" but truthfully, I have to say that I don't think that should prevent you from going online and making friends. I have met some of my online friends over the years in person and look forward to eventually meeting others, and it has always been a positive experience. Now of course we always choose to meet in some local well populated restaurant the first time, but it really is no different then meeting a new person for real. There are always going to be victims and there are always going to be predators. I choose not only NOT to be a victim, but not to be afraid either.
Besides...I could always just sit on them.

I do have real friends too...sort of...I have my longtime die hard friend from middle school, and she knows where all the bodies are buried. Sadly though, my one friend from where I used to live, seems to be a casualty of my move. But truth be told, she was the better friend when I lived around the corner from her. I tend to allow family and that over flowing plate of mine get in the way of really being able to make new friends. It can be a timing issue for sure. I am working hard to be a good neighbor though now that we have them.

My sister is my friend too...we've been through the good, the bad and the ugly and she's helped me bury the bodies...but we've had to and will always have to work hard at being friends. Because like all good things, sometimes things take work.

Now I have to go harvest some crops, kill some vampires and let's see...I have mastered level2 cheeseburgers now...so I guess it will be onion soup next...

Friend me...


then I guess I will also do some laundry, make some dinner and work on some paperwork...
gee, spending times with friends IS more fun.....

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